On May 23, a video showing a large number of live maggots inside a meat grinder at a primary school cafeteria in Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province, garnered attention online, once again bringing school food safety issues to the forefront.
According to parents who shared the video on the 23rd, a significant amount of wriggling live maggots were found inside the meat grinder at the cafeteria of Yubei Experimental School where their children attend.
The circulated video shows numerous white maggots wriggling at the interface of the meat grinder, appearing extremely disgusting. Some netizens commented, “No wonder the children have been complaining of stomach aches during this period, it cannot be ruled out that this is the reason.”
The parent who spoke to Hua Shang Bao Da Feng News during an interview stated that they discovered the maggots in the machine accidentally while accompanying their child for meals at the school that day.
In response to this, staff from the Yuyao Education Bureau stated that the bureau’s leadership and multiple staff members were on-site at Yubei Experimental School for handling the situation.
An article from Xin Jing Bao reported that the equipment involved has been sealed for investigation, with the local education bureau and market supervision department stepping in.
Subsequently, the Yuyao investigation team reported that the situation occurred due to “failure to clean the meat grinder in a timely and standard manner after the last use.” The school has now conducted a comprehensive disinfection and cleaning of the cafeteria. Additionally, serious actions will be taken against any violations of campus food safety and the responsible individuals.
Ironically, information on the official website of the Yuyao municipal government shows that Yubei Experimental School was the first nine-year consistent public rural school established in Yuyao City in September 2008, and has even received honors such as Grade A cafeteria in Zhejiang Province and being a food safety demonstration school in Zhejiang Province.
The topic of “Large number of live maggots found in meat grinder at a school cafeteria in Zhejiang” trended on Weibo that night, sparking discussions online.
Many netizens expressed their concerns, with comments like, “This hygiene is simply unacceptable, don’t the cafeteria staff eat themselves? Can’t they clean the meat grinder properly after each use?” “It shows the meat grinder is never washed.” “Just saw it in the group this afternoon, and it trended at night, this time it cannot be hidden.”
Similar incidents have occurred in various parts of China before. Even though the schools involved are subjected to certain punishments afterwards, the problems persist, raising widespread concerns among parents about school food safety.
For example, in October 2024, parents of students at Changfeng School in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, shared a video claiming that the school cafeteria used spoiled pork. Following this, the school principal was dismissed, and several officials were suspended.
In December of the same year, a parent in Haikou, Hainan Province, complained about rats constantly running on the floor of the cafeteria at Beida Fuxiao Haikou School, and rats being seen on the equipment handling food ingredients. Subsequently, the school cafeteria was ordered to cease serving meals and undergo disinfection.
Netizens believe that “the hygiene conditions of a cafeteria are definitely not just an issue at a single ‘spot,’ but a systemic problem. The appearance of a large number of live maggots in a meat grinder signifies a complete failure in hygiene control.” “It is suggested that all school leaders, cafeteria staff, and teachers should eat the same meals as the students and have the school leaders and cafeteria staff taste all the food first. Otherwise, such cafeteria corruption and safety issues will be hard to manage.”